Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Button, button. Look who has buttons!

Mom died in February of 1994 and Dad in February of 1999.  Somewhere between those events I became the owner of a tin of buttons.  


A very BIG tin of buttons.   

That at one time was just about chock-full.


I've been sorting them ever since.

Oh, not regularly...  

Every few years, or so, I pull out the tin and clean some and then store them with like buttons.

I've got quite a collection of old buttons.

Though, I don't keep them for the sake of collecting them. 

That isn't what I'm interested in.

I clean them and sort and store them, and once in a while use them for crafting purposes.  Or for costume purposes when my sons were younger.  These old buttons have come in handy over the years.

I'm not sure who started collecting buttons in this tin.  I suspect my grandmother (who I never really knew) began the collection and then my mother probably added to them.

I'm not sure what inspired me, but today I decided to pull out some buttons and spend a little time sorting and cleaning them.

And it occurred to me that someone else might be interested in seeing some of them.

I'm working from this 👆 batch today.  

A few at a time, I put some into warm soapy water,
Scrub them a bit if they need it, then lay them on a towel to dry.


It's so much fun to see the different buttons - both as I'm pawing through the mass of dirty ones hoping to find matching ones; and then as they lay on a towel drying themselves and I imagine what I might use them for...

This batch is going in next:


To be cleaned and added to these for sorting out again later:



~~~~~






21 comments:

  1. I have a button collection too. I have never thought of cleaning them and sorting. Thanks for that idea. I have buttons from as far back as from my maternal grandma.

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    1. Marsha, you likely have some treasures in there. If you're at all caring about preserving them I do suggest doing a little research on cleaning and storing buttons. I've ruined a few buttons simply soaking them in water not realizing that could ruin them. There are other things to consider if you're at all concerned about preserving old, valuable buttons. An online search will net you all sorts of information if you're interested.

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  2. Oh buttons - don't get me started! At this moment I have ten (yes 10!!) large jars filled with them (a year ago the total was 14 jars and I sorted through and donated a bunch that I knew I would never use). Mine are sorted into colours so it's not too difficult to find what I might need. As for using them in this lifetime? Not gonna happen!!! A lot of mine belonged to my maternal grandmother or my mother...and the rest have been donations from friends over the years.

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    1. I thought of you, Mary Anne, and remembered seeing pictures of your pretty buttons in jars. So far I don't have jars full, but if I ever managed to get these all cleaned I'm sure I could fill some up.

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  3. How fun! What a great find to peruse through.

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    1. I think it was clearing some space in my yarn room that caused me to noticed the buttons again. It was time.

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  4. I simply can not throw a button out. I have used some lately for my little cross stitch pillows. I never buy without scratching through my box of them. I keep thinking I should at least sort by color. Maybe one day:)

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    1. I thought of you, especially as I found little buttons. I don't have a plan yet for putting any on cross stitch, but I do have the thought to consider it now that I'm cross stitching again. :)

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  5. that is a lovely tin of buttons! so much history represented in them!!!

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    1. I know! Sometimes I find a button that is so unique I'm sure it's a real oldie. The plain metal buttons are my favorites. I don't know if they are among the oldest, but they seem very old to me.

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  6. What a fun and fascinating post! I never thought about cleaning and sorting my old buttons (of which I have many) but it's a great idea. I do sort through them and use them for various projects.

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    1. I don't know how these got so dirty. Some look caked with dirt - like they got lost for a while in the back yard or something. And other are just dusty. All jumbled together like this over the years, I guess they're all now sharing the same dirt and grime. I wasn't sure if it would be interesting, but it's what I was doing earlier in the week and I knew I'd be sorry if I didn't snap some pictures. I just don't think to take pictures of such everyday things very often. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. :)

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  7. I love buttons! Who doesn't and don't we all have a tin or jar of them somewhere from someone? I can't believe what a difference it made washing them! I never thought of washing them. I have thought of dyeing them as I have a lot of white ones. A great project for this winter, You go girl!

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    1. Oooh... Dyeing them sounds interesting. I may need to look into that, Sam! I have quite a few white ones, too.

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  8. My collection of buttons isn’t as impressive as yours, it would fit in one hand...but I’m sure my mum has a big collection. You have some stunning buttons in that collection...I like the one that looks carved with a leaf...such intricate detail for a button.

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    1. I thought that one was kind of special, too. One of these days I need to take some pictures of the ones I've already cleaned and sorted.

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  9. I love my button collection, it looks a lot like yours, lol. My mother in-law had 13 children! She accumulated jars of buttons through the years and since I like to sew she gave me a humongous jar of them. I am still using them over 45 years later! I have my own small collection but it is very different. Mine were purchased for specific projects and are organized by color, style and size. I enjoyed your button post. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you, Susan. I've loved reading the various comments. I really wasn't sure that anyone else would think old buttons are interesting. :)

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  10. Buttons are such pretty little things. Thanks for sharing your collection. I love that it was started by your grandmother and your mother.

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  11. You have some beauties there! I have a tin full of buttons as well, but I will never get around to sorting them! I like to paw through them to find the perfect addition to my stitching.

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  12. Hello Becki~ I happened upon your place today and am happily following along with you. :-)

    I too was a homeschool mom of two precious daughter's who are both married with sons of their own. I'm blessed with four wonderful grandsons.

    I enjoyed looking through your buttons in the photos as I enjoy buttons and have a couple of large jars of my own stash. There are so many unique buttons out there and the older ones amaze me.
    Sometimes I use what I have connected, but other wise, I just enjoy collecting them.

    Happy day to you!

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